The relentless march of time has ensured that Ashley Cole has fallen foul of Chelsea's policy of not offering contracts of more than a year in length to players over 30 years of age and will therefore leave Stamford Bridge when his current deal expires at the end of the season. According to a Daily Mail exclusive, the 31-year-old full-back will talk turkey with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in January, after failing to agree on a new deal with Chelsea, who he believes should offer him something more generous and respectful than a paltry 12-month contract. Should Cole decide to leave Chelsea come the season's end, he could be replaced by Tottenham's Benoît Assou-Ekotto.

The Daily Star reports that filthy rich Dagestan club Anzhi Makhachkala will offer Nemanja Vidic an annual salary of £12m, after tax, to join them from Manchester United, who are unlikely to let the Serbian rock at the heart of their defence leave Old Trafford without putting up a fight.

The relationship between the Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert and Darren Bent has become so fractious that the striker will depart the club in January and take his business to Queens Park Rangers. Bent is undserstandably miffed at being dropped every time he scores, a state of affairs he clearly hopes to rectify by moving to a club where he's far less likely to get any goals.

Rumour Mill staple and Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente still wants to play in the Premier League and Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are all in a position to make his dream come true. City are also interested in prising lank-haired Colombian goal-getter Falcao out of Atlético Madrid's clutches, but will face competition from Chelsea in the £45m+ auction to secure the smoking hot striker's services.

With Fabio Borini having broken his foot while on international duty with Italy Under-21s against Sweden, Liverpool are now just one knacked Uruguayan scurrier away from being without a recognised senior striker. The Celtic striker Gary Hooper is believed to feature prominently on Brendan Rodgers' shopping list and the 24-year-old could move from Celtic Park to Anfield within seconds of the January transfer window opening.

And having made his name at Feyenoord, the pint-sized playmaker Jordy Clasie has caught the eye of the Tottenham Hotspur manager André Villas-Boas, who wants to bring him to White Hart Lane. An ever-present for the Rotterdam club this season, Clasie's diminutive stature, positioning, poise on the ball and metronomic passing have earned him comparisons with his hero, the Barcelona midfielder Xavi. Should Spurs wish to sign him they'll have to fight off interest from the Serie A clubs Juventus and Roma.